WWE Diva Nattie Neidhart carrying on Hart family’s tradition

The Hitman is a Total Divas fan.

That’s word from Nattie Neidhart, who says that her wrestling legend uncle, Bret (The Hitman) Hart, has given her a thumbs-up for the E! reality show she is starring alongside other female stars of the WWE.

The WWE offered up Neidhart for a phone interview Thursday to help promote their show at the Pacific Coliseum on Saturday. The WWE website lists Randy Orton, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as being part of the card.

Neidhart, 31, went over several topics in the 30-minute chat, but seemed most keen talking about Divas. It is, of course, one of the new brands that the WWE is trying to push.

Neidhart said she recently spent some time with Uncle Bret and said he told her that he doesn’t miss a show. For what it’s worth, when Hart, 56, came to Nat Bailey Stadium for a Vancouver Canadians promotion a few years back, one of his favourite topics was his niece, who’s the daughter of his former tag-team partner, Jim (The Anvil) Neidhart, 58.

“Bret doesn’t like reality TV normally and he didn’t used to be a fan of women’s wrestling,” said Neidhart, who’s working in the ring these days under the name Natalya.

“When the Hitman tells you it’s cool, you know it’s cool.”

Family isn’t the only wrestling royalty she’s keeping contact with seemingly, either. Neidhart says that when she has days off she frequently visits NXT, which is the WWE’s farm team, as it were, based in Orlando, Fla. She works with the female up-and-comers, but she says she’s also been receiving tutoring from Triple H, the multi-time world champion, on her match storytelling.

Triple H’s real name is Paul Levesque, and he’s one of the WWE executives by day. He’s also married to Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWE boss Vince McMahon.

“I don’t want to give away too much of what he’s told us,” Neidhart said.

“It has been really eye-opening.”


Here are some of the other things Neidhart touched on.

Q: Even though the WWE has pulled back the curtain and tried to let fans see behind the scenes, do you fee like people truly understand what you day-to-day life is like?

A: There’s so much that goes into it. You get to the city, you get your rental car, you get to your hotel, you find a place to work out. You have eat. What you often see is five or 10 minutes of a match. I had always been hesitant about telling people about what was happening backstage. There’s an expectation now to share a little bit more, especially with a show like Total Divas.

Q: What’s it like when you guys roll into a gym in a city?

A: There’s at least one major gym in every city. There’s a Gold’s or something. We come in and it turns into a who’s who of muscles, a clean-and-jerk city. There’s all the superstars and all the divas, and it’s pure mayhem.

Q: Your grandfather is a famous wrestler and promoter, Stu Hart. We can guess what the male side of your family thinks about you wrestling. What about the female side?

A: My grandmother, Helen, was extremely traditional. They called her the Queen of Harts. She was very much about ladies being away from the ring. And, it’s funny, but none of her daughters got into wrestling. She passed away before she could see me doing this, but now the WWE is going in a different direction. I feel like my grandmother would have been a big fan of Total Divas. She would have loved the drama. I can see her watching and saying things like, ‘I can’t believe John Cena is such a neat freak.’”

source: theprovince.com